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Tough STI For the first time, researchers have identified a strain of gonorrhoea that is resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

The common bacterial infection, often called the 'clap', has until now been easily treatable with antibiotics. But if left alone can cause infertility in women and painful urination and a pus-oozing infection in men.

"This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery," says Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria.

"Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it."

Since the finding is so new, scientists are unclear how widespread the resistant strain may be in the world population, but concerns are mounting that it could spread quickly.

"While it is still too early to assess if this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emergent resistance in the bacterium suggests that it may spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs are developed," says Unemo.

Easily preventable

Up to half of infected women experience no symptoms, while men usually see signs of infection within two to 30 days.

The department's website recommends always using a condom with water-based lubricant to avoid infection during sex.

"If left untreated it could lead to pelvic inflammatory disease in women and infertility in both men and women."

People who suspect they may be infected should see a doctor in order to obtain a prescription and should not attempt to treat the problem themselves, experts say.

The current treatment recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a single dose pill of an antibiotic called cefixime, or a single dose of azithromycin (Zithromax) for people who are allergic to penicillin, ceftriaxone or cefixime.

Penicillin is no longer considered the standard treatment because it was previously found to be ineffective in some cases.